The flowers in the wicker basket and the fruit arranged on the shelf show that the still life was painted at the height of summer. Maria Auersperg Attems kept up to date with modern gardening trends and painted plants with such accuracy that their botanical species can be identified. The uncommon flower, woven around the basket handle, is the trailing snapdragon, which was a new flower species in the area of present-day Slovenia at the time the painting was created. Also new are the brilliant fuchsia, which falls over the edge of the basket and originates from Central America, and the hummingbird fuchsia in the background of the bouquet. The basket also contains a dahlia, marigolds, petunias, dwarf morning glories and a rose. Of particular interest is the rose, a repeat-flowering hybrid that blooms in August and was a desirable novelty at the time of the painting. The amount of detail in the plants indicates that the flowers, which the painter would have kept in her garden and greenhouse, were painted from direct observation. Noticeable among the fruits on the marbled shelf is the overripe fig, which has gone limp and squashed, since figs are very sensitive to transport and spoil quickly. Still Life with Flowers and Fruit, painted in a slightly flawed perspective, is set against a dramatic overcast sky.